Grease Is the Word ... for a New DEP Program for Residential Buildings

By Tom Soter

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Aug. 14, 2012 — If your condo or co-op board is in a fog about FOG, then read on — and save yourself some headaches down the road.

FOG is the acronym used by the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for describing the ingredients that are part of a common problem: fats, oil and grease. The difficulty arises when cooks deposit any (or all) of those in their kitchen drains: With more than 22,000 food service establishments serving over eight million New Yorkers, food remnants invariably get flushed into the sewers. Both restaurants and households discharge wastewater containing fats, oil, and grease into more than 7,400 miles of New York City public sewers.

FOG can build up in the sewer by adhering to pipes, restricting the normal flow of sewage. Clogged sewers can cause sewage backups, unsanitary conditions and flooding, as well as damage to personal and public property, creating a health hazard.

Sewer? I Hardly Know Her!

In 2010, the DEP launched a program to deal with this: DEP's Grease Remediation Program within the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment. The Grease Remediation team's primary function is to enforce the city's sewer regulations. A section in the regulations requires certain types of businesses to install and maintain grease interceptors, which are devices that separate grease from wastewater before it gets into the sewer system.

The regulations also specify how large the interceptors must be and their periodic maintenance. Interceptors must be cleaned so that grease buildup does not cause them to exceed their rated capacities. The team inspects about 3,000 food service establishments per year and checks their interceptors for proper sizing, installation, and maintenance.

Home, Home on the Greasy Range

Now it's your turn. Last year, the DEP launched its Residential Grease Compliance Program for renters and cooperative and condominium residents. Its goal is to help prevent kitchen grease from being washed down the drain, clogging buildings' plumbing systems and entering the sewers. According to DEP spokeswoman Mercedes Padilla, the agency has been reaching out to large housing developments, major co-op and condo organizations, and councils and memberships of commercial building associations, some of whose tenants have executive dining rooms, employee kitchens, cafeterias and restaurants that DEP routinely inspects for grease interceptor compliance.

It is also distributing flyers in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Russian, and publishing articles in newsletters. DEP has placed posters on bulletin boards and has done door-to-door outreach. DEP representatives are attending annual and community meetings to inform tenants about the benefits of this program.

Here are some tips from the DEP. To prevent fat, oil, and grease from going down the drain, residents can:

Pour cooled excess fats, oils, and grease in a container with a secured lid and discard that in a trash can.

Remove oil and any small food pieces remaining on pots and pans by using a paper towel, and then placing the soiled towel with regular garbage.

Scrape any food scraps from platters and dishes into garbage or garbage bag.

Scoop out food scraps fitting in kitchen drain and put in the garbage.

Avoid putting fats, oil, and grease down the garbage grinder.

Padilla says, “The agency will continue to reach out to residential buildings in New York City to keep the 7,400 miles of public sewers free of clog. Clogged sewers can cause sewage backups, unsanitary conditions, and flooding as well as damage to personal and public property creating a health hazard, unpleasant mess, and expensive cleanup costs.” Based on data from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, a national average of 40 percent of sewer backups are caused by grease clogging the sewers.

Learn From The Best

Choosing a management company for your co-op or condo involves factors even experienced board members may not immediately realize.Thomas Thibodeaux, CFO, and Peter von Simson, CEO, of New Bedford speak with Habitat publisher Carol Ott about questions boards should ask.

Click here to visit Ask the Experts, where you'll find more insights and answers from authorities in fields such as finance, law, leak repair, building restoration, laundry, and lobby design.